Carlsbad Lagoon Foundation No Friend of Nature

Backs Caruso Mall, Measure A

A billionaire L.A. developer came to town planning to transform one of Carlsbad's three lagoons into a magnet for tourist dollars. After winning the approval of local officials, he encountered a group of protesters bent on preserving the lagoon the right way. No, that's not the story of Rick Caruso's plan to build a shopping mall next to the Agua Hedionda Lagoon. It's about another L.A. developer's failed attempt to build an amusement park, Nemo's Secret Harbor, surrounding the Batiquitos lagoon in 1972. The L.A. Times carried a retrospective story about the fiasco on March 31, 1985. The size and scope of the 1972 project dwarfs Caruso's. But the developer's aim was the same, to make money off the site's beauty while putting it at risk. There are, however, two important differences:   [Read more...]

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